As Real Madrid prepare to take on Barcelona in El Clásico, Zinedine Zidane has more squad depth at his disposal, which could make all the difference.
Real Madrid have to be looking for positives heading into the first La Liga El Clásico of the season against Barcelona on Saturday. One bright side for Madrid is that Los Blancos currently boast superior quality and quantity in depth.
FC Barcelona’s squad is stretched thin by injury at the moment. The biggest loss for Barcelona is Samuel Umtiti in the back-line, out with a hamstring injury. Also out with injury is Paco Alcacer, a blow to Barcelona’s depth at the striker position.
Barcelona do have some quality waiting in the wings in the from of Ousmane Dembele, but there are serious doubts about whether he has recovered from his September injury in enough time to face Madrid on Saturday.
Real Madrid, on the other hand, have a plethora of options available to come off from the bench against Barcelona. Marco Asensio likes putting in beastly performances in El Clásico.
And Lucas Vazquez is quietly putting together another high-quality season as a utility player in Zidane’s setup. Real Madrid also have the likes of Dani Ceballos on the bench, who would be rearing to prove his worth against La Blaugrana.
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Mateo Kovacic provides another option for Zinedine Zidane off the bench to help control the midfield late into the game. Kovacic’s excellent dribbling skills also could give Madrid another route to breaking down Barcelona’s defense if Madrid are in need of a goal late into the match.
Additionally, if Gareth Bale doesn’t manage to make the starting XI, Zidane will have him available as a super-sub. We already know Bale can excel at that role, as we saw him do against Al-Jazira in the Club World Cup semifinals, when his first touch of the match scored the goal which sent Madrid through to the finals.
Real Madrid are fighting against the odds to try to bring Barcelona back within touching distance for the La Liga title. But their squad depth might be one area where they could make up a bit of ground.